31 December 2014

After many years of providing OICA with a breakdown of production by nation, this year, the data does not differentiate between Peugeot and Citroën. All my historical data separates the two, so of no use. Hopefully PSA has simply taken a hiatus from providing data for each. So what I did was look at total production by make, broken down in to domestic and overseas.

France

+/-

Abroad

+/-

Total

+/-

Peugeot

527,418

-14.9%

1,024,998

-2.2%

1,552,416

-6.9%

Citroën

392,478

-20.6%

869,412

16.0%

1,261,890

1.4%

Data source: CCFA.

Peugeot: Comparing 2013 with 2012, total volume was down 6.9%, with local production -14.9%. The main reason I could make out was older models such as the 206 and 207 winding down, and increase for the 208 not fully compensating. Also the 405 ended it's eternal run. In 2011, Peugeot was the 11th largest car brand, but in two years it has fallen to 16th.

Peugeot has joined the small SUV segment with the 2008

Citroen: For the 2012 /13 period, total volume was up 1.4%, despite a very depressed domestic output. The C4/C4 Picasso did well and kept the brand in plus territory. Citroën also has a solid presence in China which helps. Citroën was 16th for global production in 2011, but is 18th now, with Mitsubishi breathing down its neck.

The C4 Picasso was Citroën's best seller in 2013

Summary: The combined brands under PSA have been consolidating as the company tries to win back sales. In such a competitive industry that won't be easy. Both marques going head to head for much the same customer isn't helpful either.

Audi is the 15th largest car maker, and moving up the list. It surprises me that despite the production numbers of Audi, very few are made outside of Germany and China. In fact China is the only country outside of Europe where they have any production. Not exactly a global brand on that basis.

They seem to have assembly operations in Russia, India and Indonesia but with presumably insufficient local content to be called production facilities. Below the chart is some detail of production and assembly outside of Germany:

30 December 2014

After not releasing production by nation in 2012, thankfully they decided it was OK to do so for 2013. Otherwise they would have missed out on this most important ranking series. They are 14th in the world, excluding heavy duty vehicles, of which they make many.

There is strong rivalry between the BAM car makers, that is BMW, Audi and Mercedes. The fact they are 14th to 16th ranked shows how close they shadow each other. Like BMW, most Mercedes Benz cars are from Germany. They are made in more countries, but most in small numbers. They have increased capacity in the US to 300,000 SUVs per annum and have joined with Nissan's Infiniti to share a plant in Mexico. I see that as a smart move. For more on that venture, please click here.

The GLK. Next time he'll use his stanav

In the struggle for the bragging rights to be the largest premium car maker, the fight is on. It wouldn't shape any purchasing decision I would make, but for reasons I could explore another time, it is important for some.

For the size BMW has become, it's surprising they are made in so few countries. Two out of three cars are made at home, and has been like that for years. Nearly 80% of BMWs were made in Germany in 2010, so things are changing. They make the list in 13th position.

China replaced Austria in 2010, but otherwise an unchanging production base. When making a higher profit margin car, so many produced in a high wage country isn't really an issue. There is a plan to built a new plant in Mexico, with something like 150,000 capacity. It is planned to commence production in 2019.

29 December 2014

Fiat was once the darling of the European car buying public. After losing it's way, it is now fighting it's way back and now with the help of Chrysler under the FCA company. It relies heavily on Brazil for profit and struggles to make money manufacturing cars in Italy. In 2013 they were 12th biggest car/LCV maker.

The Turkish made Qubo. I like its style.

Europe accounts for 49.9% of the total, the Americas 48.3%, and 1.8% in India. Clearly it has work to do to globalise its operation. No production in the world's biggest market China, which it ceased it's manufacturing there in 2007. Having got in there very early, it failed to capitalise on the opportunity. Fiat has only just passed it's 2002 India production figure! A case of many missed opportunities.

Coming in 11th is Fiat owned Chrysler. Chrysler once had a European arm as do Ford and GM, but failed to really make it work. It retreated to the US and there it stayed. It did own a share of Mitsubishi for a while and formed a brief and unhappy alliance with Daimler. Now part of an alliance with Fiat, which in turn is now FCA. So far the collaboration is working well.

The Renegade. Did the Von Trapps not think to use one?

All it's production is in one region but soon some will be in Italy as well. That will be the new, small Jeep Renegade model. The brands that make up Chrysler mainly produce LCVs, such as pick-up trucks, SUVs and MPVs. Just over 75% of all production would be classed as such.

28 December 2014

Kia has 'the power to surprise' apparently. The surprise is it's excessive reliance on local production, which is not healthy. All it needs is a lengthy strike to really hurt its ability to supply cars. It is building a plant in Mexico which will help to spread it's production volumes. Being 10th in the world for car/LCV production is a fine effort.

It wasn't that long ago that all it's cars were made in Korea. It started with China less than ten years ago (now two plants there), then in Slovakia (2007) and the USA (late 2009).

This group consists of Renault (France), Dacia (Romania) and Samsung (Korea). Romania, Turkey, Morocco and India all had sizable gains in the share they produce. Korea, Slovenia and Iran were the opposite. China is not on the list below. That is a serious omission as volume and profit is to be had there. Europe accounted for 66.6% of the total, South America 18.0%, Asia 7.9% and Africa / Middle East 7.6%. It sits 9th biggest car maker as I interpret it.

The Dacia Logan MCV

One thing that stands out for Renault is the acquisition and clever use of Dacia. Without that, Renault would not be in a very good place. The no frills cars they make are popular and are sold under the Renault logo too. The profit margin for a budget brand are good also.